Rapid Recap: Heat 97, Bucks 79: Sunday Scaries

The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off the second half of their season with a 97-79 clunker to the Miami Heat on a Sunday matinee. Early on, the game featured all the symptoms of an afternoon basketball game. The first half was never able to get into a rhythmic flow as 22 fouls were called and both teams shot 36 percent from the field, including a combined 7/28 from three-point range.

Unfortunately for Milwaukee, they were never able to get into a rhythm in the second half either. They scored just 16 points in the third quarter and allowed the Heat to go on a 14-0 run that effectively put the game out of reach. The Bucks shot a season-worst 31.6 percent from the field and just could not quite come up with enough #energyandeffort in the second half to stay with the Heat.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a team-high 22 points and his first two points came in transition where he squeezed through not one, not two, but three Miami defenders for the easy lay-in.

10 of Giannis’ 22 points came from the free-throw line where he finished a perfect 10 out of 10. Defensively, Antetokounmpo failed to record a block and registered only one steal. He also posted a dreadful -20 rating on the afternoon. Giannis notched exactly one assist today, but it was an absolute beauty to a cutting Malcolm Brogdon.

Speaking of which, Brogdon put in another solid performance this afternoon. He went into the half leading the team with 10 points and finished the contest with 15. He led Milwaukee in converting 58 percent of his shots from the floor and had a handful of nifty reverse lay-ups and even a baseline dunk. The reigning rookie of the year has shown no signs of a sophomore slump and has been as close to a model of consistency as Bucks fans could have hoped.

As for Miami, Goran Dragic scored a game-high 25 points and knocked down four three-pointers, including a few long-range shots that sealed the Bucks’ fate. Hassan Whiteside recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while also adding in four blocks just for good measure. The Miami bench was able to outscore Milwaukee’s by 11 points with Wayne Ellington leading the Miami bench mob with a +16 rating despite shooting 1/7 from three.

Stat That Stood Out

As mentioned above, the Bucks shot a season-worst 31.6 percent from the field and were even more pitiful from beyond the arc. Registering at a minuscule 14 percent from three-point range, the Bucks just could not come up with enough threes to mitigate Miami when the Heat started to pull away. Khris Middleton finished one of eight from three and a few of those misses were on wide open looks. The Bucks absolutely shot like it was a Sunday afternoon game in Miami.